Snow Day 2006

When our phone rang at 6:56 a.m. on Tuesday, December 19th, we immediately thought, "Oh no. Something's wrong." However, what we found out from our dear friend, Cliff, was that it had snowed over night in Las Vegas. Now, you're probably wondering why Cliff would call us so early, knowing that we are all on winter break and relishing those "no alarmclocks are set" mornings. Well, you see, in Las Vegas, when it does actually snow, it doesn't last very long. And Cliff was worried that we might miss it.

The last time we had snow in our part of town was about seven years ago. Yes, you read that correctly. Seven years. The girls were only 3 and 4 that last time they built a snowman in our backyard. Some of the outlying, northern parts of town get a dusting of snow once or twice a year, but not us. Henderson is most often a "snow-free zone." So this was BIG news! Not only had it snowed, but it had left more than just a sprinkling of the white stuff; this was real "meaty" snow.

Looking out from our bedroom windows at 7 a.m., we saw our palm trees bending with the weight of the snow on them. The rooftops of our neighborhood were blanketed. Our cars had a thick layer of powder over them. Our cul-de-sac looked like we had been transported to the midwest in the overnight hours by some sort of 'Twilight Zone' experience. The sky was a dreamy silver. It was actually quite an amazing sight.

As soon as Hannah and Eva saw what had happened, they threw on their jackets, sneakers, gloves, and hats, and headed out into our very own winter wonderland. They were, of course, still in their pajamas. (See picture #1 above.)

A friendly snowball fight soon ensued with the neighborhood girls. The obligatory snowman was built. Rob named him Mr. Wiggles. Many pictures and video were taken. Remember... this was a big event for our city! We later found out on the news that this snowfall had only occurred in the southern part of town, mostly Henderson and Boulder City. It was a nice change for once.

By lunchtime, most of the snow had melted. The streets were still wet. And there were remnants of snow here and there. Just a little "hint" of what had once been. See... Cliff was right to worry. The desert sun isn't very kind to the white stuff. However, Mr. Wiggles was with us until late Wednesday.

There's a chance of rain tomorrow evening. It's still pretty cold outside, highs in the 40s. Could we be treated to another snowfall? Possibly even a white Christmas? I'll cross my fingers and dream of one, if nothing else.